November's Rain
by Ezaria
Summary: *On Hiatus! Leave reviews for suggestions!* Aurilyn Leniko is dragged into the Lyoko Warriors' fight and remembers when no one else should after a return to the past. To make things worse, XANA wants something from her. What is her connection to Aelita? No pairings.
1. Fateful Meeting Part 1

**Disclaimer:** **I don't own Code Lyoko, but it pretty much owns my best friend's and I's childhood during Primary 6 (I don't know what that grade is, but it's when you were / are 12 years old) :P**

* * *

Bicycle tires skidded to a stop outside a massive building. A man in a formal suit and tie stood in front of the gates in the pouring rain, accompanied by a petite form, a girl with long sky blue hair that flowed down to her knees. Well, in Aurilyn's scared 13-year-old eyes, it looked monstrous, like it was going to eat her up anytime soon. The building was the Kadic Academy. In the pouring November rain, it looked dull and old, with faint cracks spreading along the walls and pillars like spider webs.

Her father's warm hand held the umbrella that sheltered her from the rain, but she knew she wasn't going to need it anymore once she stepped into the school entrance. _Who joins a new school in the middle of November anyway?_ Without uttering a word or perhaps she had given up trying to make conversation with her strict and seemingly uncaring parent, she picked up her baggage and entered the school. Her dad left without a word. Well it's not like he would say anything after the huge fight they had the night before.

Now she stood in hallway leading up to the classrooms and dormitories. She felt so alone. She was alone. Not that she'd never felt it before. She was always changing schools, and she was certain that she'd be leaving Kadic Academy in less than 6 months. That was how it had always been with her school life. Once again, she was all alone. She bought the fuzzy maroon scarf around her neck closer to her chin, hiding her mouth behind the cloth. She always did that when she was nervous or scared.

"Hey! You there, that girl with the scarf!"

Startled, she dropped her bag. Stooping down to pick it up, her fingers were met by a fair skinned hand. She came face to face with a boy with his hair done up in a yellow cone. It was really all gathered up in a cone, with an odd patch of purple on the front. She hadn't realized that she'd been staring and stumbled upon her apology.

"You look new around here, are you lost?" The blond boy was really cheerful, and extended a hand to her to help her up. She took it cautiously.

"Um, thank you." She put on her best smile, though it came out a bit weakly. "I... was wondering, where the dormitories are."

"So you are new," his grin widened, "I'm Odd, Odd Della Robbia. What's your name?"

"Aurilyn. I-I'm Aurilyn Leniko"

"Pretty name! Shall we go? I'll show you there." With that, he took off at a slight jog.

He must be in a rush, she thought, and immediately felt bad for taking up his time. But she also felt something else, something new, like the longing to talk to him and have a chat. Sounds crazy, she never really bothered interacting with people around her.

Aurilyn tailed Odd all the way to the dormitories, up the staircases, past hallways of students that gave her strange looks, across a field. Along the way, Odd's cell phone rang and from the way he spoke into it, it sounded serious and urgent. However, he continued guiding her to the dormitories. She was enjoying following him around the school compound more than she thought she would. It might have been strange, but she wanted to do it again. Finally, they stopped outside an entrance with double doors.

"I hope you don't mind, Auri, I got to go meet my friends," Odd looked at her with pleading eyes, though his expression made it rather comical. "It's really serious, ya see. Anyway, the girl dorms are on the floor above. There should be numbers on the doors, if not...Try the key in every door? Don't think anyone will think you are a burglar, though that will be pretty funny." He laughed jokingly.

She didn't really register the rest of what he said beyond calling her 'Auri'. _Don't friends call each other by their nicknames?_ Yet, here Odd just did.

"I gotta run now. Take care! We'll meet again at school, maybe!"

"W-w-wait! Odd!" Aurilyn hurried two steps at his retreating back. Odd stopped his hurried running, only to give her a serious look. She didn't think he could look serious at all, then again. She only knew him for about 15 minutes. Which probably couldn't count as knowing someone.

"It's serious, you'll understand," he replied reassuringly as he took off down the flight of stairs again, "Don't worry; everything will be fine, I promise."

And the silence returned to the hallway with Aurilyn standing there staring at where Odd was last seen. What did he mean by that? Well, aside from that, she had her own conflicting thoughts to deal with... _Everyone has their own friends already, what was I thinking? Why hope for something impossible? It's not like this is any different from all the previous schools I went to. _She sighed, and climbed the stairs, lugging her baggage behind her scrawny back.

However, as she was nearing the top of the stairs, she felt a searing pain in her left thigh, and she leg gave way under her. Aurilyn managed to grasp the railings frantically, slipping only a couple of stairs down. Glancing at her thigh, she saw a damp red spreading across the khaki cargo pants and lavender mini skirt she wore. But she had no time to worry about that now, a mist of black was gathering at her feet. As it thickened, two sharp glowing red eyes pierced the black darkness that seems to suck in light like a black home. She found that she couldn't stare at it for long.

_What am I doing admiring this weird thing?!_ Jolted back to reality by her sense of danger, she immediately began crawling up the remainder of stairs frantically, using her arms to pull herself up. She was so terrified that she felt numb all over; she couldn't even get her legs to move right.

_What is that thing? What is that thing?! WHAT ON EARTH IS IT?!_ Aurilyn was a pretty good student; she knew what was going on in class most of the time and had no trouble with schoolwork. Despite learning science however, she simply couldn't figure out what the black smoke was. And right now it towered over her tiny form, the edges of the swirling black mass twisted into spears. In a blink of an eye, it rained down upon her...

* * *

Aurilyn shut her eyes tightly and waited for the end, or what she thought was going to happen. Nothing happened though, and her eyelids fluttered open tentatively. She was still in one piece, and aside from the blood on her thigh, she was unharmed.

A loud crashing sound brought her back to reality. A boy in a green jacket leaped over her, tossing several poles into the black floating mass. The red eyes glowed, turning into slits, almost like an angry expression. That's impossible, isn't it? That thing isn't even human.

"Now! Jeremie!" The boy in green shouted.

Another boy in glasses, Jeremie, was huddled behind the dormitory main doors. He flipped a switch on a box in his lap, and sparks flew from the device, forming thin trails of blue lightning which flew right into the poles impaling the black cloud. On a second glance, the lightning was travelling down fine wires from Jeremie's device. The cloud exploded, the black stuff dissipating into thin air. A light drizzle began to rain down on her and the surrounding stairwell.

A hand reached out to her, and she took it. Using his hand for balance, she tried to steady herself despite the pain shooting up her leg.

"Can you stand?" The owner of the hand asked. Aurilyn's eyes met those of the boy in the green jacket.

"I think so." She replied, and she fumbled for the railings for support. "What was that thing?"

The boy didn't even hesitate on his reply as he began to run back to his friend, "Doesn't matter, you won't remember any of this." He glanced at her briefly, "Get somewhere safe."

Her answer was cut off by the sudden shadow passing overhead. The black cloud was quickly growing in size, the red eyes were replaced by a strange symbol, two circles around a dot with four legs protruding from the outer circle, three at the bottom and one at the top.

Aurilyn stiffened in fear, cold sweat rolling down the side of her pale face. She felt her knees buckle under her weight as the menacing cloud descended onto her frail form.

"Run!" The boy in green screamed at her.

He turned back, reaching out for her. She lost her grip on the railing and slid down a couple of steps. Her hand brushed against something, it was one of the poles that the boy in green threw. The boy grunted in frustration, hooking one of his feet behind the stair railings, as the black cloud swirled around his outstretched hand, threatening to pull him in.

Without a second though, her trembling hands grabbed the pole and swung it at the cloud, quickly covering her head with her arms. The blue lightning coursed up the wire and the cloud burst into thin threads of black mist again, releasing him.

"Ulrich, are you alright?" Jeremie called from the doors. He ran towards his friend, who she now knew was called Ulrich.

"Yeah, let's get going." Ulrich got up and tested the arm the black cloud grabbed by twisting his wrist and clenching and unclenching his fist, "Odd must be waiting for us already."

"You guys know Odd?"

Both boys turned around and looked at her.

Jeremie spoke up, "Almost everyone knows him around here. Just get somewhere safe, okay. Everything will be alright in a moment."

"What's going on? I'm scared," Aurilyn glanced around her, fearful that the black cloud would reappear again. She wrapped her arms around herself, backing away towards the dormitory doorway. In a quieter voice, she whispered to no one, "I don't want to be alone."

Jeremie turns to Ulrich, away from Aurilyn, "What do we do with her?"

"What do you mean what do we do with her? Just get her somewhere safe, with people, the teachers or something."

"No, Ulrich, she can't, you see. This is the only stairway to the ground floor!"

Ulrich looks down the corridor of dormitories, at the other end, the stairwell had caved in and there were missing flights of stairs in between. Another black cloud was hovering over the gap in the building.

"Darn it, but we can't bring her with us!"

"Bring me where?"

Ulrich and Jeremie ignored her. "We can't leave her here either!"

"I can take her back to the cafeteria; you go to the you-know-where."

"No, we don't have enough firepower this time round."

"Well, Odd and Yumi just got to hold out till I get back—"

"We couldn't get Yumi."

Ulrich's eyes widened and then his face contorted into a furious expression, "Where'd sh—"

"Ulrich! Jeremie!" Aurilyn suddenly dashed towards them, "It's back!"

Fine streaks of black were converging on her, some piercing the floor where her feet last were as she sprinted.

"Run!" Ulrich grabbed hold of Aurilyn's hand and yanked her away from a stray shard of black. Jeremie was hugging his laptop for dear life as they all ran.

Ulrich began to test the remaining room doors for one that was unlocked. Aurilyn and Jeremie, getting the hint, also hurried over to try out all the room doors. The black cloud was closing in on them fast. With a sudden shove, the door Aurilyn leaned her weight on, swung open.

"This way! Quick!" Ulrich was the first to get in. She pulled Jeremie into the room and slammed the door shut, cutting off a slight bit of the black substance in between.

Jeremie was panting from his squatting position on the floor. Aurilyn held the door shut, brows furrowed in concentration as she fumbled with the lock, her heels dug into the ground with her body pressed against the door.

"What do we do now?"

Ulrich replied with a straight face, "Jump out the window."

"WHAT?!" Jeremie and Aurilyn shrieked in sync with each other. "How?"

Ulrich looked around the room frantically. It was a boy's room they budged into. The walls were covered with basketball posters, there was a hoop on the opposite wall. The desk was neat and tidy aside from a couple of sport magazines.

"I need some rope, a lot of rope."

"Don't tell me... You're going to slide down the side of the building?!" Jeremie stared at Ulrich, bewildered.

"Do you have any other ideas then?"

"...No, and we don't have any rope here, do we?"

Ulrich stopped in the middle of tossing the contents out of a drawer, having turned the entire room into a mess with all the belongings scattered around. Almost like the cupboard had a massive tummy ache, forcing all the contents out.

"Now the room looks like Odd's pig sty of a bedroom," Ulrich muttered to himself, scratching the back of his head.

"Guys, we could make a rope with all the cloth, maybe..." Aurilyn mumbled, embarrassed. It was such a lame idea. Only in cartoons could that possibly work out. "It might snap though!" She quickly added.

Both had a mad grin plastered on their faces, Ulrich was smirking far more than Jeremie.

"Great idea!" Jeremie and Ulrich agreed in unison.

Ulrich barricaded the door with the emptied cupboard and desk. Then, without wasting a single second, the three of them began to piece together all the shirts and bottoms they could find around the messy room, the loud banging denting the door, pulling on the hinges, aiding their teamwork. Knot after knot of cloth, creating a long chain on shirts and pants that extended slightly over 6 metres. Even with her trembling fingers, Aurilyn still managed to tie dead knots on several pant legs to shirt ends.

"Do you need any cloth to cover the wound on your thigh?" Ulrich asked distractedly, tying the last shirt to a faded pair of jeans.

"Oh, um..." She had forgotten about that injury from the earlier rush of adrenaline, thinking about it now made it ache a little, "Nah, thanks, but it's okay. I can use my scarf."

She pulled her scarf off her neck and tied it over the tear in her trousers. Her neck felt naked without its comforting warmth, the chilly air flowing around.

"Alright, we're ready to go," Ulrich concluded, surveying their handiwork. He glances back at the dented door, curving inwards with wood snapping in half with each hard bang against it. "Jeremie, you go first. Aurilyn, you're next. Jeremie will be below to help. I'll go last."

He grabbed the end of the cloth-rope, tossing it out the window. They gathered around Ulrich as he lowered the rope and tied the end to the window grill. Jeremie and Aurilyn gulped in fear. Ulrich, on the other hand, looked calm and confident. Aurilyn felt reassured just by standing beside him. It felt like Ulrich had done this before. Even Jeremie, didn't look surprised at all facing this unknown threat. It was almost as if they knew. But they were all just school kids. How it is even possible? But after seeing their display of trust and knowing looks shared between the two, it was hard not to think that they held the key to her questions.

She was brought out of her thoughts by Ulrich's gentle push on her back. Jeremie had slid down the rope and was already waiting for her on the ground. She took quick steps towards the window, and glanced down. Jeremie's small form waved at her half-heartedly in the light drizzle. He had a forced smile on his face. Was he afraid when sliding down? Her eyes wondered from Jeremie to the colourful cloth chain. It looked flimsy and knobbly.

"I don't know if I can—"

"Don't hesitate, Aurilyn. Don't think on it," Ulrich's calm steady voice reassured her.

Aurilyn gulped in fear. She couldn't feel her fingers and her knees were trembling. Her stomach was churning and, well, she felt completely ill just staring down from the 3rd floor. Ulrich guided her over to the window, telling her it'll be alright, and that Jeremie would be at the bottom waiting for her, but she was too scared. She felt rooted to the ground. _What on Earth is going on? New school and now this? I just want a peaceful school life. I just want to get it done and over with this._

A loud bang on the door jolted her out of her thoughts. She turned back only to shield her eyes from flying splinters with her arm. She vaguely saw Ulrich hit the ground hard and rolling onto his side, arms over his face. The wall stopped his roll, and he let out a soft grunt of pain. Now Ulrich and she were side by side, backs against the open window with the end of the cloth rope.

Ulrich's left arm was bleeding, the blood dripping of his fingers and pooling at his feet. His left shoulder was sagging slightly, and he winced in pain. Several holes of splintered wood were driven through the cupboard and desk barricade. The black mist was still in the midst of piercing several more.

Aurilyn felt a pang of guilt in her gut. Ulrich had gotten hurt become she wasted time. She wasted time being scared. She wasted precious time meant for escaping. Because of her, Ulrich's arm... It was the same as all her failed friendships; she was always too late, always missing chances. Anger sipped its way into her mind, mixing with her guilt. She suggested it, why didn't she see it through? Why did she have to keep being this way, always hurting people? Why why why? The same unanswered question played over and over in her mind, she was fixated, and almost in tears.

"Hey Aurilyn," Ulrich grabbed her arm with his good hand, "Listen to me, okay. Just listen. You need to get down the rope now. I'll be right behind you, alright?" His eyes stared deep into hers.

"No," her long fringe shadowed her eyes, in a stronger voice, she repeated herself, "No, you go first."

The black mist continued to pierce through the obstruction, a cloud of dust building up at the doorway. The barricade was reduced to half its size now, scattered piles of sawdust the only evidence remaining of the cupboard and desk.

"What?! Follow the pla—"

"You're injured, I'm not... Not really. But you go."

"It's not your fault, okay. Aurilyn, look here. This happens all the time for us. Strangers to our world shouldn't get involved and won't remember anything afterwards. Just go."

Her voice took on a confidence she didn't know she had. "I don't care what world is yours or mine... In this time and in the now, I want you to go first."

Looking up, and into Ulrich's eyes, he saw her fear and uncertainty replaced by a silent confidence in her pale blue eyes, despite all the chaos around them.

"Hurry! Ulrich!" Jeremie interrupted them, yelling out to them in panic.

"I'll be seeing you on the ground." Ulrich jumped up onto the window, twisting his body around, he faced the wall and with a slight push off with his feet, scaled down the wall one handed with his good arm.

* * *

Left in the room in the silence, the air stirred around her, lifting her sky blue hair, causing it to dance gently in the breeze blowing in from the open window. With a final shove, the black mist ploughed through the wooden barricade. The splinters flew in all directions, her hair tossed back as she stared at the black substance. In the midst of the flying splinters, their eyes met; the red triangular ones of the black cloud with her pale blue ones.

Time slowed. The room was so quiet; the rustling of autumn leaves from outside could be heard. The hurried footsteps of students carried by the wind, the cold air sending a chill down her spine.

A long smoky appendage extended from the cloud pulsing with evil intentions. Suddenly it shot forward and grabbed at Aurilyn's wrist before she could pull back. However, as fast as it had attached itself to her arm, it recoiled back into its black mass. A cold, heartless, computerized voice spoke. It came from the floating black substance in front of her. No mouth was visible on it, the word XANA flashed twice in digital before being replaced by the same circular symbol with four protrusions. It just spoke and its chilly voice filled the room.

"No orders to kill. Not a target. To be taken alive."

Aurilyn stared blankly at it.

"To. Be. Taken. Alive."

"Taken... Alive? Taken?" She repeated the words, realization hitting her slow. _Where am I supposed to be taken to? No, why should I even be taken to anywhere?_ Her hand went to her head. She was now more confused than ever.

"No..." She steadied herself, remembered what she had to do. What she promised Ulrich and Jeremie, that she would go down the rope after them. "No. I refuse."

Without wasting another second, Aurilyn spun around on her heels and sprinted for the window. Grabbing the windowsill with one hand, her feet pushed off the ground, almost like a cartwheel, she leapt over the edge, the other hand finding the cloth rope. She planted her feet to the side of the wall, finding her grip on the rope with both hands, just as a black translucent spear shot out the window. She could hear the shouts of familiar voices from below, and across the school yard many more frightened voices, but she had no time to be concerned about them.

The black cloud made a sharp turn and was heading back, flying straight into her at an alarming rate. Aurilyn instinctively went into a crouch, sliding down about two metres or so, and gave a hard sudden kick of the wall, angling her flight or more like swing into a huge, tall tree. Her wounded left leg didn't give her the force she required though, causing her to spin in a wide arc, missing the tree completely.

"Jump! Aurilyn!" Jeremie and Ulrich were screaming from below.

She had other ideas though. Electrical wires ran from the roof of the building housing the dormitories to the main school campus building, directly in her path. Perfect! A smirk tugged at the corners of her lips. She slid down the rope a couple more feet, giving herself a wider reach. A tree loomed into her vision. It wasn't as huge as the other tree, but it would have to do. Gotta get the timing right. Aurilyn gritted her teeth in concentration, letting the swing take her higher and nearer to the cables.

Now! She released her grip a few feet away from the wires and fell face first into the tree.

Wet leaves from the rain earlier brushed against her face and branches snapped all around her. She didn't know whether it worked, but a deafening sizzling bang sounded across the school campus. Her hand found a branch to grab onto and her descend stopped.

She checked the skies first, seeing it tinted with spots of gray vanishing smoke. Did she really do it? Aurilyn didn't want to get her mood up so quick so she went back to concentrating on getting down. It wasn't a far drop so she simply released her hold on the branch, dropping on her feet.

Her left foot gave way but she found her balance, getting up carefully. Ulrich and Jeremie ran over to her, looking worried and frantic.

"You... I don't know, no, I didn't know you could do that!" Jeremie exclaimed.

"It was a little quick thinking..." Aurilyn whispered back in her usual timid voice.

"We got no time to chat guys!" Ulrich cut in urgently, "To the factory!"

"Factory?" Aurilyn asked curiously. There was definitely something up with these guys. She had to know, especially after her encounter with Xana.

"Well..." Ulrich and Jeremie exchanged looks, Ulrich continued, "We can show you around town later, but we got to go. Urgently. We'll see you around later. Get somewhere safe!"

Ulrich and Jeremie took off, leaving her in the middle of the school yard all alone again.

Won't remember anything afterwards... Ulrich's words played in her mind on repeat_. If I don't do anything, and wait this out, I won't even know all this happened? How?_ It's embedded in her memories; the weird cloud wanting to kidnap her and all the students saw her swinging around like Tarzan with the weird black cloud. It's impossible to forget something as crazy as this.

"Hey, you!" A rough voice barked at her. She looked over her shoulder to see a stout man in a red sweatshirt approaching her. "What do you think you were trying to do? Playing Tarzan with— What is that?"

He furrows his brows at the cloth rope, which, at that right moment had to snap. Two thirds of the clothes fluttered down, landing in a heap.

"You got to be kidding me?! You are asking for a suspension. No, expulsion!" His hands move animatedly as he spoke, using more ridiculous hand motions as he tried to emphasise on his point. "You even cut your leg terribly doing that crazy stunt!"

"No, wait, the cut wasn't from that. It was fr—"

"No excuses! What grade and class are you from?"

Oh crap, now she was in deep shit. She hadn't even gotten her class and grade information from the principal whom she was supposed to see after unpacking. She had no words to say, no excuse. And she simply stared back at him with the best innocent eyes she could make.

"That isn't gonna work on me, young lady!" He huffed, "You're coming with me to the principal's office!"

"Jim!"

"What!" Jim glances around furiously.

"Incoming!"

"Wha—" A football went flying straight into his stomach. "Oof!"

Aurilyn couldn't contain her laughter. The face he made when the ball slammed into his front was hilarious. It was like his eyeballs could pop out of his eye sockets and his mouth twisted into the shape of a funnel.

"Um... Are you okay?" She managed in between giggles.

"And for that, you are gonna get detention!" He yelled at her after scanning the field for the culprits that have ran off into hiding already, directing his anger at her instead.

She had never gotten herself in such a mess. Detention? Getting expelled? Those words were foreign to her.

"B-b-but, I didn't—"

"You are coming with me right now!" Jim grabbed her hand and pulled her along to the principal's office across the school yard.

_My dad is going to kill me!_ She groaned inwardly, trailing behind Jim. As they walked, she couldn't help but feel betrayed again. _At least there won't be any flying black clouds of evil in the principal's office... I hope._

* * *

A half an hour of waiting. Students exiting and entering the room with the sign Mr Delmas on its door. The door opened. A girl with a thick yellow head band and a tight fitting pink shirt with her tummy exposed strutted past her, flipping her hair back and staring down at Aurilyn as she walked away with two boys, or minions, as it seems. The girl was saying something about her 'Ulrich-dear' to the two boys in a bossy, spoilt tone_. I don't think I want to be anywhere near that girl._ Aurilyn recalled her old school days with stuck up, spoilt brats with followers everywhere...

The hallway is cleared at long last. She was next. Aurilyn calmly stepped into the office, masking her fear behind a blank expression. Mr Delmas, a stern looking bespectacled man with a greying hair and beard, with a darker shade of moustache, sat at the long desk, fingers interlaced.

She greeted him, only stumbling on a few words and the meeting begun as soon as she took the seat in front of him. He questioned her, she answered. He clarified with Jim, then heard her side of the story again. The whole time, disbelief was written all over his face. He kept asking the same questions about the incident over and over again, only to be met with the same response from a frustrated Aurilyn.

_So apparently, these kind of crazy happenings is not usual thing in this school. What am I going to do now? What can I even do now...? _Now Mr Delmas was suggesting the infirmary, and Jim was responding energetically about her telling lies.

"I'm not lying! I'm not, Mr Delmas..." She tried to convince him again. "It's the truth! A black evil cloud attacked me. See?" She stood up to show him her bloodied skirt and trouser leg, "It cut me here, sir."

"Either you are a very skilled liar, or you banged up your head in that fall," Mr Delmas concluded in an irritated voice, "Whatever it is, I cannot allow such acts to be committed in my school. I will have to suspend you for a few months."

"But I just got here!" Aurilyn countered, exasperated. _No, no, no... Dad is now really going to kill me! _

"You are suspended, and that's fin—"

Time was stopped by an intensely bright white light passing through the entire room.

* * *

Aurilyn was walking down a long hallway linking the entrance of the school main building to the classrooms further ahead. She reached up to readjust the maroon scarf around her neck, and paused. There was no blood on the scarf. Looking down, there wasn't a tear in her trousers. She froze.

_Didn't I do this already?_

* * *

_**Please**__** review! :) I've not watched Code Lyoko in over a year, so please tell me if you notice any errors too. I don't think this story will fit in the timeline, it'll branch off into it's own thing later on. Would be more interesting and unpredictable that way, don't you think? Feedback please! It'll be so appreciated. I love comments and suggestions :D It took me a lot of courage to publish this. :P Arigato minna! (Thank you everyone.)  
**_


	2. Fateful Meeting Part 2

**I'm back with another chapter, but this one is half the length of the first. Well, all chapters will range from between 2500 to 6000 words, quite a big range, but I type when I get inspiration.**

**Please please please review! I need opinions, comments, critics about this. I don't know what readers like from my story and I write for your enjoyment, so please review, yeah? *happy big grin***

**Disclaimer: Code Lyoko isn't mine, only in my dreams. **

* * *

A teen boy dressed in his usual purple attire strolled down the corridor towards the main building of the school campus, whistling a simple lively tune. Odd kicked a pebble, watching it bounce twice before landing in a patch of grass, as he continued on, hands in his pockets.

He walks through an open, sheltered walkway, faint splashing sounds coming from the school entrance. He glanced to his right, eyes following a thin tire tracks leading up to dirt stained bike. A scruffy looking man was cycling away in the pouring rain.

_Must be Auri's father._ How did he know this, you ask? Odd found himself walking through the corridors once again after the return to the past. One of the things he liked about the return is that it washed away all of his exhaustion, back till before whatever happened, happened. _Oh, that reminds me, I must pretend that I don't know Auri. _As the distance between them shortened, his footsteps brought him to her. He didn't think of whether he wanted to approach her again, he just did.

"Hey! You there, that girl with the scarf!" He jogged over to her, a wide grin plastered on his face. _Act like nothing, Odd, nothing at all. Who is she? Well how would I know? Yep, just like that. Perfect. Ain't knowin' a thing about this girl with sky blue hair. Pretty hair. _

"Hello Odd," Aurilyn turned around, a serious look in her eyes, but a smile tracing her pale lips, "Hello again."

They stood there, eyes locked, the rest of the world forgotten. He knew her name. She knew his name. There was no trick in that. She knew. She knew about the return to the past somehow. He was starting to regret approaching her, but he was glad he did before she went to report this whole 'time travel' experience to someone.

"Again?" Odd feigned ignorance, raising his eyebrows in fake curiosity.

"W-we... We met here. I don't know how to explain this, but I must have gone back in time... And I'm sure you, and your friends, Ulrich and Jeremie, have something to do with it," Aurilyn lowered her gaze, looking off to the side as she rattled on, not even pausing to catch her breath, "We fought an electrical storm cloud, you know... Your friends did, after you left in a hurry... After you took me to the dormitories. All that happened in the future." She looked back at Odd intently, but spoke up again with more confidence, "It's 2pm again, it's raining again, and I'm standing here for the second time."

_Wow, shit. She really knows._ Odd stood there speechless for a second. _What the heck are we suppose to do with her? _

"Maybe you bumped your head," his voice sounded strange to himself. _Wow, now I just said something stupid. _

"I doubt so. I was in the principal's office about to get expelled for scaling down the dormitory building. I have no evidence, but it happened. How else can you explain me knowing Ulrich and Jeremie before I even meet them?"

_Thank goodness, she's still calm. She's taking this pretty well. Not bad. I don't think I can handle this alone though. Time for a distraction. _"You scaled down the building?"

Aurilyn smiled sheepishly, her cheeks glowing with embarrassment, if it wasn't for the seriousness of the situation, Odd would have burst out in laughter.

"We were trapped in one of the dorms... And I kinda... Well... Suggested that we form a rope made out of clothing and use it to climb down to the ground floor."

"For real? A cloth rope made out of what? Shirts, pants... underpants too?" Odd laughed hysterically for a few seconds this time. "Well that was unexpected and a little bit crazy! I thought that'd only work in cartoons. Didn't think you look like the kind to think up such stuff."

"I-it's not. I-I'm, I'm not. Don't judge a book by its cover!" Aurilyn's was blushing in embarrassment now. _Uuurgh, I need to stop stammering in nervousness now! It's not helping me at all here._ "And... And... I just want to know what is going on! Stop distracting me!"

The whole hallway went silent. Oh, did I shout that last bit? Woopsie me...

A girl wearing a tight fitting pink shirt with her tummy exposed faked a laugh, flipping her hair held back by a yellow head band. "Flirting with another girl again, Odd? I wonder what Marissa would think this." She smirked.

"It's not Marissa; we broke up 2 weeks ago. It's Willy from 7th grade." Odd stated with a matter of fact tone, and a wide grin, hands on his hips, "Or was it Cecily? Oh Sissi, staring at your face gave me amnesia."

"Hmph!" Sissi's face was as red as a beetroot now. She stomped her feet and hurried off, muttering a few curses under her breath.

Aurilyn just watched all that happen with a straight face, but inside, she was partly amused and wondering if she could stand up to Sissi like Odd did. Odd then turned back to her, that smug look still stuck on his face, he was about to speak but she decided to cut him off.

"I-I want to know what is going on with this whole time travel business and the electrical storm cloud; I think its name... Is Xana."

Odd's eyes shot wide open, round like marbles. _This guy is too animated and expressive. I totally can tell he knows what's going on. Doesn't take a fool to know that. Just look at that wide eyed, jaw dropped expression on his face. _

"Follow me, I'll take you to them," he muttered. _Dammit, I was caught off guard. Don't tell me... Xana must have approached her personally. And maybe did something to her. She might be an enemy for all we know. Before I blurt out anything stupid, or even worse, our secret! I'm a loud mouth, fun dude, why do I have to deal with this anyway. I just kick some baddies in Lyoko for y'all..._

Aurilyn followed Odd's hurried footsteps all the way to the dormitories again. This time however, she took the time to observe the other students. They were giving her strange looks again. _Looks like I'm the only one who remembers the return to the past aside from Odd and his gang. That's a good thing, might come in handy in the future if I time travel again._ ..._Again?_

The students were still giving her odd looks over their shoulder; most had their emotions displayed all over their faces. It took a little bit of thought, but Aurilyn got it on the second try_. It must be because of my hair colour! Not sure why I didn't realise it either. Maybe it's because..._ She looked at Odd's hairdo, the strange purple diamond in the front of the hair cone of blond. _Because it's not that different from his._ But she smiled in returned.

She smiled cheerfully and waved at them. A second chance, another chance to make friends. If she was going to return to the past any more times, she'd use it wisely to do all the things she failed to do right. She smiled at the thought. As she waved at the passing students, her smile became a genuine one. Comments about how pretty her long hair is sailed through the air to her ears_. Being friendly isn't so bad after all._

* * *

Jeremie was leaned forward, hands and chin resting on the chair back, facing his computer screen. On the screen, a chat box was opened up to full screen, and a teen girl with bright pink hair was grinning for ear to ear on it. The girl was like a 3D model against a curved background of scrolling digital numbers.

"—Had a physics class test today."

"I bet you aced it, Jeremie. Aside from the tests what's school like today?"

"Same old. The usual."

"Oh I'd still love to hear it. I wonder what school is like, out there with interaction and things to see..."

"I'm sorry. I promise to get you out of there soon. You'll see the world with me, I promise, Aelita." A light shade of pink appeared on Jeremie's cheeks.

"You're blushing." Aelita giggled.

"Hmm... I'm just excited." Jeremie stook his head, and leaned back, hands on the chair preventing him from falling backwards. He looked at the door upside down. The blush soon faded.

A loud pounding on his room door put a stop to their conversation.

"Ello, ello, Einstein! We got a guest today!" Odd bellowed. Jeremie winced, covering his ears.

He sighed and turns around to face Aelita again. Her head was tilted, and her eyes look like they were searching for the voice beyond the computer screen.

"Is that Odd?"

"Yeah, and he brought someone else with him."

"You'll have to end this chat, right? So that no-one will know I exist, and Lyoko."

Jeremie nodded.

"Get going, Jeremie," Aelita smiled. "It could be important."

"Mr. Einsteinnnnn! Open up! I'm coming in and I'm not gonna pay for a new door!"

"Oh, just be patient, Odd. I'm almost done!" _Well at least he didn't budge in without knocking first this time. Something must be on his mind. _

"I'll see you later, Aelita." Jeremie smiled, the mouse hovering over the 'end chat box' icon. Aelita returned the smile and waved. Reluctantly, Jeremie shut down the computer.

* * *

The door swung open, and a slightly annoyed but curious Jeremie poked his head through before stepping into view.

"Meet Aurilyn the time traveller," Odd had a silly grin on his face again.

"Say what? And I thought you, for once, would have something important to inform me of."

"I do. It's just as I said. Watch," He gestured to Aurilyn to enter the room, forcing Jeremie to make way for them, shutting the room behind them, "Alright. In actual fact, you, Auri, have not met this guy right here before. I've been calling him Einstein so far, but you know his real name, don't you?"

"It's Jeremie," Aurilyn answered. She felt her confidence returning. It seems like her was only confidence around people she was in danger with. During life threatening situations, she felt closer to others, and was more daring to take chances and use teamwork. Otherwise, she would be her usual timid self. She didn't know how she reasoned that out from her actions so far, she just felt it and know. Aurilyn was probably comfortable around Jeremie and Ulrich, and perhaps Odd too.

"And so what are you trying to prove?"

"She remembers the return to the past."

"Odd! Don't tell her that! You just blurted out our secret!"

"Relax; she can't do anything with only that piece of the puzzle."

A knock interrupted them.

"Who is it?" Jeremie asked warily.

"Yumi and Ulrich," A gentle but firm female voice replied.

"Come on in. Got something crazy for you to hear!" Odd added.

A girl with short and straight black hair, wearing a black long sleeved shirt with a bit of her belly showing and also black pants, entered the room, followed by a brown haired boy in green, his hands shoved in his trousers pockets. Yumi smiled at Odd and Jeremie, hesitated for a brief instant before sending a quick smile in Aurilyn's direction. She quickly took a seat at the edge of Jeremie's bed, and nodded for them to continue.

"Aurilyn here remembered what happened before the return to the past."

Yumi raised her eyebrows, a look of disbelief replacing her calm look.

Ulrich kept his face blank, "Is that so?"

"I think you are Yumi, Ulrich mentioned you while we were trapped in the dormitories." Aurilyn stated blandly, betraying no emotion, but her eyes blazed with curiosity and excitement.

This time Jeremie, Ulrich and Yumi were listening intently, shock and doubt displayed on their features.

Jeremie spoke up first, "How much do you know... And why do you know this?"

"I'm not exactly sure myself, but I think it's a Xana person's doing. The evil black cloud that attacked us. You, me and Ulrich. It flashed its name, Xana, and spoke to me. Said that it wanted me alive. That was during the time you and Ulrich had left and I was still stuck in the building."

_Oh wow, this is serious. Dead serious. Xana must've done something to her. _

"Aside from that, did it do anything else to you?"

"You mean like try to kill me on my first day of school here?"

Looks like this is going nowhere.

A beeping alarm buzzed, muffled by Jeremie's bag. As he quickly reached for his laptop, the Xana symbol flashed on the main computer in the room.

"It's that symbol! I saw it! Xana!" Aurilyn shrieked, pointing at the screen, fearing creeping into her voice and causing her to tremble. It was reminding her of the evil cloud.

_Looks like there's no mistake then._ Jeremie sighed. _She knows. And what perfect timing to do something about it, another Xana attack. At least this time all of us are gathered. _

"Let's get going then," Yumi stood up.

Jeremie grabbed his laptop as Odd followed Ulrich and Yumi out. Aurilyn looked at their serious faces, grabbed her bag and got up to leave too. They moved out in silence, Jeremie shutting the door after them. Then the four of them headed to the right, towards the staircase to the outside, however Aurilyn headed left, content to leave them to solve their own problem.

_I don't want to get in their way after all, and even though I already know their secret, or part of it. I don't belong with them; I'm not even in their clique. _But another thought hit her._ What if... they won't let time travel again somehow? The return back in time might have been a present for helping in Jeremie's and Ulrich's fight, nothing more. I want to time travel. I can correct my mistakes before they can happen with it. I can do so much with it. It's like the best thing that could have happened out of this whole confusing mess. _

Aurilyn had paused without consciously knowing it, lost in her thoughts again. Deciding not to let the opportunity pass, she spun around on her heel, and sprinted over to them.

She took a deep breath and let the words escape. "I want to come with you."

Three pairs of eyes stared back at her, unblinking.

Odd fake-laughed, "You are kidding right?"

"Nope," Odd's smile faltered, "I want to be of help to you all. I heard you guys needed extra fighting power, don't you?"

Nobody said a word.

"Xana said he, or it, wanted me alive. And I'm afraid," her words were barely a whisper now, "I'm afraid it'll go after me again. I don't want to be alone when it does. Xana is our common enemy, isn't it?"

Odd slowly nodded, and Jeremie nudged him with a frown, "Oi!"

"Ssh," Yumi hissed, "Go on, Aurilyn." The same serious look never left her face. Yumi didn't want to give her any false hope.

Ulrich simply folded his arms and gazed at her intently.

"I want to be fighting alongside you, not alone."

With just that, the five of them took off as a group, making their way to the manhole in the park, to a world that Aurilyn will soon become a part of, the start of an adventure. Those simple words would bring about the start an unbreakable, unwavering friendship; words that would change Aurilyn's future forever. And they would also reveal a dark past she never knew about herself...

* * *

**Say tuned for more. And you'd wanna look forward to Aelita and Aurilyn's meeting, that is a key point in the story. I hope it'll be interesting enough though. *laughs carefully***

**~Ezaria**


End file.
